Boy are they spinning it:
http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=167306
Those early numbers mean nothing. It’s the tail that matters. Mario 3D Land will have little to no tail. And how can it be the fastest-selling Mario game when New Super Mario Bros. DS sold, what was it, like 900,000 units in one week in Japan? Maybe Reggie is only talking about U.S. numbers, but still, given what we know about Nintendo’s 3D and 3D Mario obsession, this is simply looking like spin to defend the company’s “philosophy.”
I say bring on the 3DS redesign with toned-down or eliminated 3D, a better D-pad in a better spot, better battery life and buttons that don’t sit so damn flush with the system. Oh, and a Super Mario Bros. game.
Despite this spin, I think 3DS numbers are going to sink again beginning next year. A 3D Mario game cannot carry momentum for the hardware. It’s doubtful Mario Kart will either. Nintendo seems to forget that all those Mario Kart DS and Mario Kart Wii sales came from moving entry-level customers upmarket. Since Nintendo put out NO entry-level games on the 3DS such as Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc. (Nintendogs 3DS clearly didn’t work), it’s not going to pull Mario Kart DS or Mario Kart Wii numbers.
Of course, they’re spinning it. Notice how Nintendo no longer talks about ‘evergreen games’ hahahaha. Now they just talk about ‘how fast the game is selling’ because they can’t talk about anything else!
I don’t think the 3DS will be in any big trouble since it will be the kid system in the US. What competition does 3DS have? Vita? Pssshhhht. I’d like the Vita to be a competitor to the 3DS but Sony keeps going their way of ‘premium handheld gaming experience’ and ‘ripoff prices for memory cards’ approach. Vita will likely overshoot the market.
Nintendo never had major problems with their handheld line. The huge problem is the Wii U. We know the Wii U isn’t going to pull in the Wii consumers and the Xbox 360 and PS3 have gotten more popular over time. The Wii U could possibly become Gamecubed. Why would anyone buy a Wii U? You could get a cheap PS3/Xbox 360 with a similar game library (Wii U will be getting Xbox 360 ports) or wait for the superior successors to come out.
